daveingland.com

In the midst of Haiti, where is God?

// January 28th, 2010 // 1 Comment » // God, cnn.com, prayer

When natural disasters happen an immediate response amongst people is: Where was God? Why did he let that happen? Without getting into the theology of the question, let me just share a story with you. It goes something like this:

Blind violinist Romel Joseph laid in what he called his “grave” for 18 hours.

The concrete support beams of his music school in Haiti pinned his legs and feet. Buried in the rubble of the five-story building, Romel realized he was trapped and would not be able to get out on his own.

He was overwhelmed by the hot air. He began to have a conversation with God.

“I said, ‘I would like to know if you are here. I’m really hot … and don’t have much time to live so if you are here, I’m really hot and I need some cool air.’ And believe it or not, the next thing I know, there’s cool air that got in.”

I would have to say that this was a pretty miraculous scenario. Why of all people did Romel Joseph experience God? The simple answer is that he called out to God and found that God was there. Honestly, as someone who professes a strong faith in Christ and has been involved in pastoral ministry for the past 5 years, I don’t know if I would have the courage to get through those same 18 hours that Romel did.

The beauty of this whole experience is that Romel didn’t talk about coming clean for any sins he had committed in the past. He didn’t guilt trip himself about being in that predicament as punishment for something he did against God. He didn’t freak out and cry out for his rescue. In a simple, quiet moment in a hot, sweltering mass of rubble that entrapped his legs and made it difficult to breathe he just asked God for some cool air. He didn’t say something like, “Please save me, I don’t deserve to die.” or “I’m sorry for my sins, please forgive me and now save me.” He just simply asked for some cool air and immediately he began receiving it.

Later Romel continues to pray and ends up visualizing himself playing violin music to concertos and the peace and joy he found in those visions allowed him to get through his 18 hours of entrapment and find himself free. At the hospital being treated for his injuries, the doctors are saying that he may never play the violin again because his hand was fractured along with his legs. However, Romel just says, “I have to play so they can hear what I want them to play.”

The level of tragedy in Haiti is one that I hope we never experience again in the history of our earth. However, no matter how great I may think of myself or my ministry, I am not sure I could have had the faith that Mr. Romel Joseph displayed through his 18 hour ordeal, which I know was just an extension of his personal faith in God already. Through hearing his story via an article on CNN, the whole world now sees the beauty and peace that came upon a brave man named Romel Joseph during an incredibly trying time–a beauty and peace that came from God and is now being shared through his faithfulness. It’s not about rituals, use of holy language, or advance preparations. God will be God no matter what we think.

Mr. Joseph, it is such an honor to live on this earth with you. May your story magnify the true nature of the God of grace, peace, and love.

excerpts from cnn.com article: Trapped Violinist Found Delivered, Through Prayers and Concertos.

When in doubt, reach out!

// December 21st, 2009 // No Comments » // Dave (personal), friends, prayer

It’s no secret to many of  you that follow my journey on twitter and/or facebook, that I am in a place where I am really seeking God on something. It’s radical, unexpected, challenging and humbling all at the same time. So often I have talked to pastors that have been in similar situations. Rather than divulge their secret prayers, they keep things private and only share glimpses of things. I know Scripture tells us that we are to pray in secret, but at the same time I believe that God uses others to speak into our lives. Scripture clearly tells us we are to gather together and pray and that where two or more are, God will be there.

In my experience it is way too easy to pray alone and feel as if we hear the voice of God speaking to us, when it may not be. Therefore, I have made it a point through my time of living out my faith that I will ask some people to help pray with me. At times, God uses those people to speak to me and either confirm or deny things I am thinking about. It has really helped me in my discernment process.

One of those friends, David Meysembourg, came through for me in an indescribable way today. We couldn’t connect in a tokbox chat this morning, but it’s as if the love of God manifested itself in a very brief video message he left for me. Somehow God brought David into the conversation and I was left with the biggest smile on my face. My heart was deeply warmed, my love for my friend was greatly increased, my direction seemed to be getting cleared. Had I not reached out to David and asked if he would pray with me and listen for God to move through him on my behalf, I would have missed out on one of the most beautiful and encouraging expressions of God I had ever experienced in my life. Something so small, meant so much to me.

I still have my doubts about some things, but they are being cast aside as people I have reached out to are coming alongside me and giving me virtual hugs and words of encouragement. How could I ever keep some things from friends when they have been so instrumental in my journey of faith and calling to ministry?

When in doubt, I reach out. I am eternally grateful that God has surrounded me with friends of loving grace that represent Christ so faithfully and do so with a smile on their face. Through their smiles, I sense Christ smiling upon me and I am encouraged to take the next step in faith knowing they believe in me, because Christ believes in me.

The story of a dude named Dewde

// December 11th, 2009 // 13 Comments » // atheist vs christian, evangelism/outreach, friends, people, prayer

For all the people out there that say blogging is dead, I say you have no clue what you are talking about! I know that sounds harsh, but I adamantly believe it. Let me share a story of a dude named Dewde and my blog.

There was a lot of controversy surrounding an issue of Asian-American Christians taking offense to something, which I responded to in this blog post. Someone I did not know at the time read my blog post and chose to respond with a very short comment which simply stated:

Clearly you are not irrelevant.

Clearly.

peace | dewde

After that comment was left on my blog, I continued to see comments of peace and wisdom, all seasoned with a love that truly seemed to be evidence that Christ was alive and well in this guy named Dewde. He was everywhere in the blogosphere in response to the controversy, yet his remarks were always consistent — always taking the high road, yet acknowledging the inadvertent wrongfulness of the issue. I was taken back by his presence and devotion of time to exhibit such grace and truth from a non-Asian perspective. I imagined that Dewde must have been a well-versed Christian that somehow found grace and was devoted to sharing it with the world. I wanted to be more like him.

One night during a tokbox video conference on an issue of Asian-American ministry, Dewde pops into the conversation. I had to know more of his story. I was all set to be envious of his experience and learn what caused him to be so full of grace. Then, he softly spoke something that rocked my existence! He said that he was an atheist who married a Christian woman and came to know the eternal love of Christ through attending services at North Point Community Church in Georgia. What? An atheist? Specifically, an atheist-turned-Christian-through-a-mega-church-experience. Could this be true? Dewde definitely had my attention. The more he shared that night on tokbox, the more I realized that his story was very similar to mine. He shared a link to a video of his journey as an atheist who came to faith in the Lord. This guy who was so solidly grounded in peace and dripped the love of Christ from every pore of his body made statements in the video like:

• I had questions, but they were not answered to my satisfaction.

• I had a conversation with God. I told him that I did not believe he existed, and that this was his chance to prove to me that he did…I waited…I listened hard…And when the silence was over I had the proof I needed…And I became an atheist with a clean conscious.

What the heck? How could a guy who came to know Christ personally just seven years ago — a guy so rooted in his own reasoning skills and with so much evidence of Christians not being what they professed to be — how could this guy seem to have found so much peace? I said similar things during my years as an atheist, yet don’t reveal that much grace in my life. I was developing a bond with my newfound brother and it greatly encouraged me to know God was at work in this way in others. While Dewde and I have a lot of similarities in our journeys, we are two very individual people. We are not the same. Therefore, Dewde’s story is worth knowing and I encourage you to take a few moments to witness his story in the video below. I know many of you know him via twitter and the blogosphere, but I’m not sure many of you know how he came to be this amazing guy named Dewde, who loves others because Christ first loved him.

Here’s the video:

It’s Personal – A Former Atheist Speaks from dewde on Vimeo.

Brother-in-law update: December 10, 2009

// December 10th, 2009 // 2 Comments » // family, prayer

If we’re connected via twitter & facebook, you know that I had to drive down to Santa Barbara, CA so my wife could be with her brother who just had a heart attack. It was quite an interesting situation, and I’ll do my best to explain it briefly. First, I must say thank you again to all of my friends and faithful prayer people that saw my tweets/facebook updates and stood with us in prayer over my brother-in-law Allan and the situation. Lots was going on at the time and the timing was bad for us to be making the drive, but so many things came about that I attribute to God honoring all of the prayers that were lifted up for us. Thank you!!!!

1. First thing to report is that Allan did have what appears to be a heart attack, yet there are no lasting signs of it. He has no scarring of the heart nor is there anything else to be concerned about that could lead to future heart attacks. There were no blockages in the arteries and no stroke. In essence, his heart stopped and he was resuscitated, but the doctors couldn’t find a reason for it happening, nor a reason why it should happen again. Also, there is no evidence to show it ever occurred. He was deemed heart-healthy.

2. Apparently Allan did stop breathing and CPR was not performed until paramedics arrived. There is no evidence of any resulting brain damage at this point. He was on a respirator for a couple of days mainly because he was sedated. The doctors medicated him and put his body into a state of deep relaxation to help him recover, so the respirator was breathing on his behalf, but only while under the sedation.

3. He wasn’t responsive to questions nor was he talkative during his time in the hospital. However, the doctors stated that this is a normal reaction from someone who had a heart attack. They pass out, wake up in a hospital, and are disoriented for awhile. We were concerned that there was some brain damage, but the tests came back negative.

4. It basically seems to have come down to being diagnosed as a freak occurrence. The doctors said it could happen again, or it may not. No way of knowing, since they have no idea what caused the episode in the first place.

5. It looks like Allan will be cleared to be released from the hospital today.

Throughout this situation it has been amazing to receive a bunch of prayer from friends and new friends, and then have a chance to watch God work through it all. Even things like the emergency happening during a time when hotel rates (which can run upwards of $400/night) were at their lowest of the season, and we were able to make the drive without rain/snow/fog impairing our visibility. They can appear as such simple things or things that operate outside of God’s control, yet I believe that so much was done on our behalf, through your prayers. I posted more of how this has helped to shape my personal perspective yesterday: Finding beauty in the chaos.

If you would still consider praying for Allan and the family as he comes through this time it would be greatly appreciated! My mother-in-law is with one of her daughters a few blocks from Allan’s apartment through the holidays. I’m hoping they can re-connect and spend some time together until I leave to pick her up after the first of the new year.

Again, thanks to everyone so much for the prayers, positive thoughts, and kindness extended to us. It is very much appreciated!

Finding beauty in the chaos

// December 9th, 2009 // 2 Comments » // Dave (personal), family, friends, prayer

I’m tapping this post out on my iPhone from the beach in Santa Barbara. I know how glamorous that sounds, but in my mind it really isn’t. A lot has been going on in my life lately, but this really isn’t about me. It’s about finding beauty in the midst of chaos and life’s uncertainties.

In the past I could expect to be really upset that the timing of my brother-in-law’s heartache was crappy. I had just driven 1,200 miles through Santa Barbara to get to some meeting in Los Angeles. After coming home I was back in the car 2 days later headed to Santa Barbara. I could hAve felt put out because my wife wouldn’t fly after having a claustrophobic panic attack during a flight home from Portland, OR a few weeks ago. Yes, the timing of things was verh unfortunate, but when is it ever fortunate for a family member to have a heart attack?

I feel like my life is headed into a tailspin of chaos and trying to make up for lost time. However, as I sit here writing this I know I would be an idiot for letting that take away from the beauty I sense at this moment: My wife has the opportunity to show her love for her brother Allan by being here for him
when no one else is. She gets to be strong and responsible by helping manage his care by answering questions for the doctors. My daughters who hate long car rides came with me and have been able to spend time as sisters, laughing and having fun as well as being on the beach, which they really enjoy. Through all of this my friends on twitter and facebook have supported us through powerful prayer and even those I never expected to pray are there calling on God on behalf of our family and God is responding. The timing of our trip is such that we missed the heavy rains here and can experience a sunny day and relaxing environment. So many things to find beauty in what otherwise could have been depressing and overwhelming.

Today isn’t a day for feeling down, because I can now see how days like this can’t just be coincidental. Attitudes of joy and caring just can’t come to the forefront for those of us consumed by our own personal issues. God’s divinity, grace, and love have been present in all of this. I remember a time when it would have been a about me and the crap being rained down on my life. God’s plan to take me away from that place is the most wonderful thing that could have ever happened to me. Seeing him healing my brother-in-law and my family through this emergency and. recognizing true love from my friends (and new friends) is something that can’t be taught. May God reveal his way to you in such times so that you too can look to the beauty that is present in your chaos.